The basketball gods are delivering a Spring for the ages. Between Iowa, Purdue, the Pacers, there's no shortage of meaningful hoops for Hoosiers to enjoy.
It's a big day for the Pacers. By the end of the night, we'll have a much clearer picture of how the playoff seeding in the East will shake out. First and foremost, the Pacers need to take care of business at home. Beat the Heat and avoiding the play-in becomes tangible with only three more games on the schedule. Lose, and the risk of missing the playoffs entirely becomes hard to ignore.
Elsewhere, Cleveland and Philadelphia are on the second nights of back-to-backs, the Magic play the Bulls, and the Knicks and Bucks face off in Milwaukee. Depending on how the night goes, the Pacers could end up a game out of 3rd or tied with Philadelphia in 7th (we won the season series 2-1).
Tonight won't be easy for the Pacers. Miami has earned a reputation as a team that turns it on this time of year. In the last four post-seasons, the Heat have made it to the Finals twice and to the Conference Finals an additional time. In both trips to the Finals, they have been a 5 seed or lower.
Based on my go-to stat, points-per-possession differential, it seems like the Heat are right on schedule this year. Over the past two weeks, they have the best efficiency differential in the league by a considerable margin. They are 5-2, beating teams by an average of 16.2 points behind the 5th best offense and top ranked defense.
Long story short, if the Pacers don't want another let down, they'll need to be sharp tonight. Miami isn't going to beat itself, the Pacers will have to execute in order to win.
Injuries
Execution might be hard if Tyrese Haliburton doesn't play (which I fully expect him to). In no way am I suggesting that his inclusion on the injury report has anything to do with the fact that he played his 65th game of the season against the Thunder on Friday and therefore officially met the threshold for post-season awards. Having said that, his questionable designation before one of the biggest games of the year is a reminder that perhaps the team didn't manage his health as well as they could have this season.
Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Smith listed as questionable on the injury report. Smith with an ankle sprain. Haliburton with back soreness. Both did participate in practice. We talked to Carlisle and Haliburton and neither mentioned his back.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) April 6, 2024
Heat injury report for Sunday at Pacers:
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) April 6, 2024
Josh Richardson, out (shoulder)
Tyler Herro, available (foot)
Duncan Robinson, available (back)
Terry Rozier, available (knee)
And that's it.
(Alondes Williams, Orlando Robinson and Cole Swider back from G League.)
How to Watch
Beware of the early start tonight.
Tipoff is at 5:00 PM ET.
TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
See ya in the comments!
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